Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
47
promotion. To ensure effective collaboration and cooperation, representatives from the
various government bodies are usually part of the executive or steering committees for MDTCs.
Local authorities are mainly responsible for delivery of services and day-to-day management
issues related to their section of the MDTC. In the case of the Neusidlersee-Seewinkly and Ferto-
Hansag Transboundary National Park, which was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2001,
seven local authorities fromAustria and Hungary manage the park according to the agreements
between both countries.124
The local tourism businesses and the public tourism institutions are the actual service
providers along the corridor, making their role quite instrumental for the success of MDTCs.
MDTCs stand to benefit from the support of the local tourism industry in promoting the theme
of the corridor. 125 The support of local communities is also instrumental to the success of
MDTCs. In the case of the Columban Way, based on the memory of Irish monk, Columbanus,
who traveled from Ireland to Italy, founding Celtic monastic communities, local communities
support tourist offices by spreading information about events through word of mouth and
fliers. Local artists and historians also participate in festivals and lectures. 126
The Holy Grail Route presents a good example of public-private cooperation in the
development of the corridor, with collaboration and coordination between local and regional
authorities and the tourism industry as well as universities, NGOs, and cultural associations.
The stakeholders involved in the Holy Grail Route include the Directorate General of Tourism,
the Government of Aragón, the company Sargantana, and universities from Spain, the UK,
Greece as well as the NGO My World from Bulgaria, and the company 5-Senses LTD from
Malta.127
Involving local communities, starting from the planning process to the implementation and
operation stage, is essential for the success of MDTCs. MDTCs need to provide added value to
local communities along the corridor both in terms of creating job opportunities and improving
their quality of life. MDTC management needs to research local communities carrying
capacities along the corridor to ensure the corridor does not exceed the limits of acceptable
change for these communities. MDTC management needs to set communication plans and
create channels to improve communication and the encouragement of the flow of information
and feedback from local communities.128
Offering a good example of involving local communities, the Réseau Art Nouveau Network
provided training sessions for teenage school students through the “Home alone!” project to
increase their awareness of the Art Nouveau heritage of the Horta Museum district. In the
context of the training, the teenagers were given control of the Horta museum during the
weekend of the European Heritage Days. They managed the reception and offered guided tours
and workshops to museum visitors. 129
In the case of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) TC, various types of stakeholders, including
private and public stakeholders as well as non-governmental organizations, are involved in the
124 UNWTO (UNWTO) and European Travel Commission. 2017. Handbook on Marketing Transnational Tourism Themes and
Routes.
125 Ibid.
126 Ibid.
127 Ibid.
128 UNWTO (2015), Affiliate Members Global Reports, Volume twelve – Cultural Routes and Itineraries, UNWTO, Madrid.
129 Council of Europe. 2018. Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Programme: Activity Report.